Green Bay mayor on hosting NFL Draft: 'We're going to be all over this'

Green Bay --- The NFL Draft will only become an exponentially more extravagant event. So it shouldn't be a huge surprise that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is considering alternatives to New York City's Radio City Music Hall.

Count Green Bay mayor Jim Schmitt in. On Thursday, Schmitt made it clear that he'd love for the NFL Draft to come to Green Bay, Wis. -- and he believes the city could handle the event.

"We’re going to be all over this," Schmitt said by phone. "We’re going to do whatever we can to make this a reality.”

The realistic venue to him would be the Resch Center, located across the street from Lambeau Field. The Resch, which hosts the UW-Green Bay men's basketball games, the USHL's Green Bay Gamblers and various concerts, has a capacity of 9,877. The Radio City Music Hall currently holds 6,015.

It's unknown what the NFL would be looking for in a future site. On The Rich Eisen Podcast, Goodell said Los Angeles and Chicago have been the most "aggressive." Both cities could offer larger venues.

"We’re looking at the potential of moving out of New York,” Goodell said on the podcast. “Radio City’s been a great place for us but there’s a lot of cities that are interested in having us in the future and we’re looking at that. The two most aggressive probably are Chicago and Los Angeles but we’ve heard from a few more mayors also.”

He says it would take a "partnership" between the Convention Visitors Bureau, the Packers and the private sector. Fox 11 in Green Bay first reported the interest.

“I know that our economic development department has been in contact with some of the other partners we would need in this community," Schmitt said. "In terms of a formal proposal, that’s being discussed. That’s something we are definitely going to work on and I’m excited to support.”

So Schmitt asserts there is “an unbelievable appetite" on his part to bring the draft to Green Bay. He believes the Resch Center could realistically host the draft.

The team's tradition and Lambeau Field would probably need to be Green Bay’s No. 1 sell to the NFL.

"That’s right in the shadows of Lambeau Field," he said. "I’m sure they have many needs for breakout sessions. The city is very comfortable with the amenities we would need. Banquet space. Five-star hotel rooms — we have more of those online now. This city could do this convention from the Resch Arena to all the other amenities they’re looking for. Plus, the notoriety. The NFL should be proud to come to Green Bay. We’d really show them a great time.”

This is all obviously in an exploratory stage, but Schmitt is going to give it a shot.

In stating his case, he points to the 2011 NFL Kickoff. After winning the Super Bowl, Green Bay hosted the league’s kickoff event, which included music acts in town by Kid Rock, Maroon 5 and Lady Antebellum.

“That was awesome,” Schmitt said. “We had great bands, great venues, a lot of NFL people were in here. Retired players. We’ve gone the (Packers) Hall of Fame banquets here. There’s so much tradition here. The city is more than the Packers, but the Packers are a huge part of this community. If every community had the same partnership we do with a NFL team, it’d make for a better city and a better impact.”

About Tyler Dunne

Tyler Dunne covers the Green Bay Packers. He has been on the beat since 2011, winning awards with the Pro Football Writers of America and Milwaukee Press Club.